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Direct written premiums for homeowners insurers amounted to $22.2 billion in the second quarter, up from $20.82 billion in the same period in 2012, according to a report from SNL Financial Group. Growth rates were 10% or higher for 11 of the 30 insurers with the highest direct written premium, according to the report.

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Falling home prices in flood-prone areas across the U.S. are resulting from mandatory rate increases under the National Flood Insurance Program, says Miami real estate agent Moe Veissi. Support to delay the increases is growing among governors and consumer groups, but some research groups are calling on Congress to enforce the higher rates. Increasing rates for properties with the greatest risk is an appropriate way to improve the NFIP's finances, R.J. Lehmann of the R Street Institute said in a statement.

Wildfires are expected to worsen because of climate change and to generate more smoke that will pose health risks to communities outside the areas affected by the fires, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It affects a much wider area of the United States than people realize," says Kim Knowlton, a health professor at Columbia University and an NRDC scientist. The smoke carries pollutants that can trigger medical problems and cause lung and heart disease to become worse, Knowlton said.

Workers' compensation assessments for insured employers in New York will amount to 13.8% of their premiums next year, a decrease from 18.8% this year, because of the state's move to streamline its assessment system, according to the New York Workers' Compensation Board. The decrease will mean $300 million in savings for these firms, the board said. "The previous assessment system was overly complicated, cumbersome and expensive," the board said in a statement.

A study by Ptolemus says usage-based insurance policies have twice the market share they had last year, with more than 5 million drivers using telematics. The market share of UBI is growing worldwide, with 170 UBI programs introduced during the past 18 months, according to the study. UBI premiums are expected to exceed $80 billion globally by 2020, the consulting firm said.

The insurance industry lauded a Florida appeals court's decision against an injunction on a law aimed at revamping the state's personal-injury-protection auto insurance system. PCI's Donovan Brown said the law may face more challenges in the future. "Although [Wednesday's] ruling was a victory for Florida's consumers, we anticipate those that making a living profiting off of PIP will again attempt to challenge this law. We hope that does not happen and Florida's consumers will no longer be stuck in neutral," Brown said in a statement.